This low-profile graphics card does fit into the N40L and provides way more performance than the other recommended cards. Doesn't require additional power and the PSU is adequate. I know a lot of you have bought the N40L, so hope this helps some of you. I've done this upgrade and it is superb.

The 28nm process has reduced power consumption and heat so that you can have decent gaming performance in the Microserver. Here is the Tom's Hardware best graphics card for less than $100 listing for February, which compares this card with the 6670:

I run it under Windows 7, so I haven't investigated the drivers under WHS 2011. If you want to game, W7 is probably the way to go.

The VTX3D low profile card is cheaper but very similar to the Sapphire card. Here's what a chap at AVforums had to say about his Sapphire 7750 N40L rig:

Have an N40L with the 150W PSU.

Have significantly updated it since I had it with a 2 x SATA2 card to power 2 x 2.5" Drives + slimline DVD drive, 6GB RAM and have 4 x 3TB WD RED NAS drives installed. My OS drive is a 2.5" VERTEX3 60GB SSD and the 2nd 2.5" drive is a Seagate Momentus XT 500GB Hybrid drive.

The 4 x 3TB drives are purely for storage of Photos/Videos/Music.

I use Windows 8 Pro as the OS using effectively RAID10 (Win8 Storage Spaces, slow writes but fast read).

I've tended to use this purely as a Media Server with Twonky Media & torrent downloads but the family PC died over Christmas and didn't want them touching my gaming i7-3770K/GTX670 Monster. Now using a 4 Bay QNAP TS-469Pro with 4x3TB drives as my Primary Media Device and the Microserver is really the external media Backup.

Decided to make it a better all-round PC by adding a GPU so kids can do a bit of gaming.

Have read all about the various GPU options with the 5450/6450 or GT210/220/340 etc. then recently read people had installed a 6670 even though limit on PCI-E is meant to be 25W. Anyway, also saw lots of questions regarding the 7750 low profile but no one seems to have confirmed it can work so I decided to give it a try seeing as much more powerful than other options. I also tried a 6450 for comparison.

So there you have it, the Microserver can work with the Saphhire HD 7750 low profile. Its really easy to install and fan hardly noticeable even when gaming. I'd say its bit too loud now for a HTPC if in a quiet living room during low sound sections of a film compared to on-board or passive cooled 6450).

Max Power draw then is 1-2w for the on-board GPU, 20w for HD 6450 and 37w for the HD 7750 during the game testing with highest peak seen at 113w during Windows Benchmarking.

Have plenty of photos I can post tomorrow if anyone interested.

PS, the Idle power is with all the drives spinning. When the drives go into standby the base level is around 40w.

Groups

No games with this one? I thought all the AMD had a bundle with them at … No games with this one? I thought all the AMD had a bundle with them at the moment

No games, but it does come with the required low profile bracket, which I should have mentioned. When you fit it you lose the VGA but keep the DVI and HDMI. No HDMI cable is included but you can buy one for a quid in Poundland. Some games would be nice, but I've got so many unplayed on Steam that I'm not bothered.

27th Feb 2013

Would this run okay with the Athlon II X4 posted?

27th Feb 2013

I, er, wouldnt say the HP Microserver is a good candidate for a gaming rig. The processor just isnt up for it.Its good at most things, just not gaming

27th Feb 2013

very interesting!

27th Feb 2013

Thanks for the extra detail in the posting, as an N40L owner myself this is good stuff. I tried GTA4 but even at the lowest settings it was to steppy. I am using the 6450HD, but could be very tempted by this card.

27th Feb 2013

GTA4 is a mystery - i put it down to poor coding.

Even in my rig [Phenom II X6 1100T, 16GB DDR3 RipjawsX Ram and Geforce GTX580] its still a bit laggy in some areas.

27th Feb 2013

118luke

I, er, wouldnt say the HP Microserver is a good candidate for a gaming … I, er, wouldnt say the HP Microserver is a good candidate for a gaming rig. The processor just isnt up for it.Its good at most things, just not gaming

I think they mean if you've bought an n40l for media based use then stick this card in and you can play games at a semi decent rate whilst retaining the main use for n40l

27th Feb 2013

118luke

GTA4 is a mystery - i put it down to poor coding.Even in my rig [Phenom … GTA4 is a mystery - i put it down to poor coding.Even in my rig [Phenom II X6 1100T, 16GB DDR3 RipjawsX Ram and Geforce GTX580] its still a bit laggy in some areas.

I found GTA4 only ran well once I got a decent Quad Core processor. I upgraded my graphics card first of all when it ran badly but still had lag on dual core processor. Was only fixed by going quad core

27th Feb 2013

danakajoel

I found GTA4 only ran well once I got a decent Quad Core processor. I … I found GTA4 only ran well once I got a decent Quad Core processor. I upgraded my graphics card first of all when it ran badly but still had lag on dual core processor. Was only fixed by going quad core

Mines a Hex core though lol. Was yours Intel or AMD?

27th Feb 2013

dontasciime

I think they mean if you've bought an n40l for media based use then stick … I think they mean if you've bought an n40l for media based use then stick this card in and you can play games at a semi decent rate whilst retaining the main use for n40l

Yes, it isn't an £800 gaming setup, but for £70 it is a lot of fun in the living room. And a lot of games do perform surprisingly well and way better than the other N40L options. Just look up 7750 and the games you're interested in on YouTube. And given that most people are going to spend at least another £20 on a card for HDMI, I reckon it is well worth spending the extra if you fancy a bit of gaming.

Edited by: "musical" 27th Feb 2013

27th Feb 2013

118luke

Mines a Hex core though lol. Was yours Intel or AMD?

Went from AMD Dual Core to Intel Quad Q6600

27th Feb 2013

Can you stream media and play games at the same time on n40l with this? Very tempted!

27th Feb 2013

BraveSirRobin

Can you stream media and play games at the same time on n40l with this? … Can you stream media and play games at the same time on n40l with this? Very tempted!

It is going to depend on the stream, memory, game, game settings, drives, drivers, transcoding, OS, etc. The only way to find out is to try! Buy from Amazon and you can return without hassle under the DSR. I'm selling our Xbox 360...

27th Feb 2013

musical

It is going to depend on the stream, memory, game, game settings, drives, … It is going to depend on the stream, memory, game, game settings, drives, drivers, transcoding, OS, etc. The only way to find out is to try! Buy from Amazon and you can return without hassle under the DSR. I'm selling our Xbox 360...

Would be nice to use my steam account again and fire up half life 1 & 2, maybe even fallout 3 :-)

Missed the n40l deal is it likely to happen again?Would be interested in something like this to try pc gaming.I know it won't be the best but rather that than spend £600+ to try gaming

2nd Mar 2013

£75 gpu in an £89 computer. I think I'll pass.

2nd Mar 2013

It's a mid-range card card stuck in no mans land and your suggested system hasn't really got the CPU grunt to run as a dedicated gaming machine. Personally I think it's a waste of an additional £25.

You can now get the DDR3 6670 referenced in your comparison (or a similar variant - it's 2GB but we all know that memory's wasted) for £47 delivered, or get a couple of extra bits thrown in to meet the £50 delivery marker instead - cclonline.com/pro…88/

If you're going to be running games at mid-settings anyway, can't see the point in paying extra money for this, plus it's frequently been cheaper as per the graphic above. If you're not gaming, the 6450 is a better HTPC card, AMD's Catalyst stuff has some whacky implementation problems and unbelievably I had to go back from the 6670 to the 6450 in my HTPC to avoid the 29/59 bug in 7MC.

2nd Mar 2013

HD 7770 OC better than this ?

2nd Mar 2013

isn't the 69.99 NVidia 650 a better card?

2nd Mar 2013

PR1

isn't the 69.99 NVidia 650 a better card?

The N40l needs a low profile card with a small fan or heatsink that doesn't draw too much power. That 650 looks like a nice card but I think it is too big in height and width.

Edited by: "musical" 2nd Mar 2013

2nd Mar 2013

PR1

isn't the 69.99 NVidia 650 a better card?

yeppppp

2nd Mar 2013

bobo53

yeppppp

But it won't fit in the N40l!

2nd Mar 2013

I went for the much cheaper sapphire HD 6450 for 30 quid as it's enough to play half life 1 and 2 and my older games. Still voted hot but couldn't stretch to the extra 40 quid.

2nd Mar 2013

The HD 7750 is currently I believe the best performing card that doesn’t require external power which is an issue for some.It’s about 50% faster than a HD 6670 which is not insignificant at this performance level as it can make the difference between playable and unplayable - Review.

Bossworld

It's a mid-range card card stuck in no mans land and your suggested … It's a mid-range card card stuck in no mans land and your suggested system hasn't really got the CPU grunt to run as a dedicated gaming machine. Personally I think it's a waste of an additional £25. You can now get the DDR3 6670 referenced in your comparison (or a similar variant - it's 2GB but we all know that memory's wasted) for £47 delivered, or get a couple of extra bits thrown in to meet the £50 delivery marker instead - http://www.cclonline.com/product/96856/HD-667X-CLF2/Graphics-Cards/XFX-HD6670-AMD-Low-Profile-Graphics-Card-2048MB/VGA0888/If you're going to be running games at mid-settings anyway, can't see the point in paying extra money for this, plus it's frequently been cheaper as per the graphic above. If you're not gaming, the 6450 is a better HTPC card, AMD's Catalyst stuff has some whacky implementation problems and unbelievably I had to go back from the 6670 to the 6450 in my HTPC to avoid the 29/59 bug in 7MC.

2nd Mar 2013

spankius

Missed the n40l deal is it likely to happen again?Would be interested in … Missed the n40l deal is it likely to happen again?Would be interested in something like this to try pc gaming.I know it won't be the best but rather that than spend £600+ to try gaming

Honestly, post your budget and people can suggest better machines than the N40L.The N40L is an amazing bit of kit, but it's far from good enough for gaming. Just buy a barebone system from someone like Novatech if your on a budget

2nd Mar 2013

i've never heard a microserver called a "decent gaming pc"!!

these are just netbook technology with a simple raid controller bolted on, having had to build about 30 of them, id strongly recommend not bothering!!

not going to vote hot or cold or anything, as fair play to any one who finds them useful, so just expressing my opinon

2nd Mar 2013

RIIIDAA

£75 gpu in an £89 computer. I think I'll pass.

It's not unusual even in hardcore gaming machines for 50% of the cost to be spent on graphics.

So what are you objecting to? The low price, on a deals site, or the entirely commonplace proportionality?

Note that I don't think this is a great combination necessarily, but the op is upfront about what it is, and the money makes a lot of sense. The card itself is wonderful if you need low profile

Look guys, this machine plays a lot of modern, and nearly all nearly modern games at very decent resolutions and frame rates. A lot, if not most, games are GPU rather than CPU intensive. Sure, it isn't an £800 gaming machine, but for a lot of people that is a waste of money. Just look for 7750 on YouTube to see how it performs. I'm not saying to buy an N40l as a gaming computer, but if you have one and you add this card it does a decent job, costs very little, uses little power, is small and is reasonably quiet. For many, many people 60fps at 720p in Left4Dead 2 is going to be fab and loads of games are great at 1080.

Edited by: "musical" 2nd Mar 2013

2nd Mar 2013

spankius

Would the zoo storm PC for £160 from ebuyer plus this graphics card be … Would the zoo storm PC for £160 from ebuyer plus this graphics card be better for games than the n40l- AMD A4 3300 2.5GHz- 4GB RAM + 320GB HDD- DVD Writer- AMD Radeon HD 6410D

It costs twice as much money...

2nd Mar 2013

musical

It costs twice as much money...

It would however make a better gaming pc, n40L is a great htpc / dlna server base

2nd Mar 2013

Looks like the zoostorm is £130 on eBay/ebuyer sometimes. Will the hp be on offer around £100 again?

2nd Mar 2013

£86 quid for my n40l

2nd Mar 2013

I'll stick to playing Donkey Kong. 10p a go.

2nd Mar 2013

Poor card for the price, you can get a 7770 for less than £96 with 3 games delivered. I know its a lot more %age wise but it makes this deal look like dog meat next to sirloin steak (beef or horse) as performance is a lot better and 3 games to boot.

2nd Mar 2013

joolsvern72

Poor card for the price, you can get a 7770 for less than £96 with 3 … Poor card for the price, you can get a 7770 for less than £96 with 3 games delivered. I know its a lot more %age wise but it makes this deal look like dog meat next to sirloin steak (beef or horse) as performance is a lot better and 3 games to boot.

Is that card low profile ?

2nd Mar 2013

I had original Battlezone and Defender machines, working, in the garage at my mum's house. There was also a table top pacman in decent condition. I bought them off fairgrounds and arcades in the early 90s for very little money. I went home and discovered that my mum had thrown them away, together with all my old Scalectrix in the loft, which included three old pit stops and loads of 6 lane stuff that you haven't been able to buy for decades. I still haven't forgiven her and it was a long time ago. When I see how much they are worth now it makes me want to cry. She doesn't even have a car or need the space. Sad.

Edited by: "musical" 2nd Mar 2013

2nd Mar 2013

joolsvern72

Poor card for the price, you can get a 7770 for less than £96 with 3 … Poor card for the price, you can get a 7770 for less than £96 with 3 games delivered. I know its a lot more %age wise but it makes this deal look like dog meat next to sirloin steak (beef or horse) as performance is a lot better and 3 games to boot.

A 7770 won't fit in an N40L and consumes too much power, so is a waste of time in a Microserver. There are loads of cards that are bigger, faster, hotter, louder and more expensive but that won't work in an N40L. The games are nice but no use if the card won't fit in the case or the power supply is inadequate.

Edited by: "musical" 2nd Mar 2013

2nd Mar 2013

Agharta

The HD 7750 is currently I believe the best performing card that doesn’t r … The HD 7750 is currently I believe the best performing card that doesn’t require external power which is an issue for some.It’s about 50% faster than a HD 6670 which is not insignificant at this performance level as it can make the difference between playable and unplayable - Review.

Which is fair enough but they're both lower mid-level cards, and the CPU in the proliant is worse than the oldest Core2Duos. You're going to be bottlenecked by the CPU before the difference between the 7750 and 6670 becomes apparent. Someone's mentioned L4D2 there, as it's based on an old engine, the 6450 is probably adequate - tomshardware.com/rev…tml